Shattered Hearts
by Claire-Redfield4
Summary: Chapter 4 Up! Part two of Remembrance. The conculsion to Claire's rememberence of what really took place in the mansion before Leon arrived and the aftermath of it all. more chapters to come in the next month
1. Prologue

Title: Shattered Hearts Prologue  
  
Author note: This is my first fanfic so I hope everyone enjoys it. R & R  
  
Disclaimer: I do not and have never owned any of the characters in Resident Evil, they belong to Capcom.  
  
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Leon looked around the dank facility in dismay; he'd been there over a couple of hours and was ready to go home.  
  
_' This place would remind Chris of the Spencer estate.'_  
  
The mansion was lavishly furnished on the inside, carpeted staircase that led to a second floor, marble flooring, and a big stained glass window portraying a woman committing suicide, which overlooked the garden outside. Every room looked well taken care of. The mansion looked haunted and had this eerie presence emitting from the walls, and as Leon explored found that it really was, littered with Umbrella's creations and its employees.  
  
Walking down an enclosed corridor, he heard the moans and shuffling of one of those virus carriers, Leon smelled it before the zombie rounded the corner, then he saw it with its rotted flesh, dulled eyes and arms reached out to grab. Leon didn't hesitate, he readied his 357 magnum at the monster and fired twice. The zombie moaned again, a wet, squishy sound and collapsed on the floor bleeding out.  
  
Leon looked at the body for a moment, then stepped lightly around it, and continued down the hall. He opened the door and was led into a long hallway, with a big glass window on the right. Leon started toward the window, but stopped short of breath, he got winded. He held on to his chest as his legs were going numb. The pain was intense but Leon wouldn't let up, crouching low to the ground he looked around the hall, his sight became blurry, his body began to shake violently. The virus that the scientists injected him with was trying to take over. Leon took a deep breath, regaining his conscious and stood up, and walked slowly toward the door, which would lead outside.  
  
_' I won't let them control me anymore, they won't win.not this time'_  
  
Opening the door, Leon readied his gun and walked out into the brisk October air. He looked around for any creatures and then started toward the stairs at the right of the balcony.  
  
' Time to get out of this hellhole, go and check on the others. I'll give them the files I've found.' "Fuck those scientists" Leon mumbled angrily. After all it's their fault his was in this mess in the first place, killing thousands, creating bioorganic weapons for destruction. They're the ones who forced him to cooperate with them, they threatened to hurt Sherry.  
  
_' What else could I have done, she doesn't deserve to be put in anymore pain. '_  
  
Six months ago umbrella had captured Claire Redfield in Paris, when all she ever wanted to do was find her missing brother Chris. She didn't deserve that either, what she deserved was a normal happy life, one where she didn't have to run and hide. 'Umbrella has destroyed all of our lives, we'll never be able to truly forget. never.'  
  
Leon started to walk down the stairs to leave when as the mansion was being taken out of view, he saw something shining in the far right corner of the balcony. He walked towards the area and looked on the ground. There on the ground was a customized berretta covered in blood. Leon bent down and felt the gun, and found that the blood on it was fresh. His gaze drifted from the gun and followed the blood trail to.  
  
_' . Oh my god.'_  
  
Leon's eyes widened as he identified the body lying in the corner.  
  
"Claire!"  
  
There in the corner was the body of Claire Redfield. Her body mangled and slouched against the wall. Her jeans, shirt and leather jacket were covered in blood and had slash marks in the fabric.  
  
Leon ran over to Claire and picked her up. Holding her, he checked for a pulse and found a small faint one. Claire was hanging on to life by a thread. Leon shook her lightly trying to wake her up, but to no avail.  
  
"Claire wake up! PLEASE WAKE UP!!"  
  
Leon shook her again, more forcefully this time.  
  
"CLAIRE!!!!"  
  
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To be continued.


	2. Hospitalization and Infection

Shattered Hearts Chapter 1:  
  
Author note: I'm terribly sorry for not getting this put up quicker; I've been busy with school, and tons of homework. Plus, on top of that I don't have a computer at home.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not have possession of any of the characters in Resident Evil, they belong to Capcon. Anyways, on with the chapter!!  
  
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Leon stood now in a hospital room with fellow comrades Jill Valentine and Barry Burton. When Leon had arrived at the house carrying Claire in his arms earlier that morning, they all rushed to the nearest hospital. They'd had to use fake names and Ids considering their situation with Umbrella; a pharmaceutical company which was known worldwide for their household products and health care. But what they didn't know was that secretly, Umbrella also made bioorganic weapons, and was to blame for the destruction of Raccoon City; their home.  
  
_' So... what now?'_ Leon thought aimlessly as he stared out the window, looking down at the city below.  
  
"Where's Rebecca? Barry do you know where she is?" Jill asked looking around the room for any sign of the little whiz kid.  
  
"I think she went back to the apartment to retrieve her medical kit." Barry replied, setting down the patients file on Claire.  
  
"So what now... do we just sit here and wait or... what?" "I'm not for sure Jill, if I think of something, I'll tell yah."  
  
_' ... Just please... please don't call her brother, he'll kill me...'_  
  
"I know! I think we should call Chris. He's her brother, he'll want to know if something like this would happen." Jill said perking her head up looking at Barry. "Good idea Jill."  
  
_' ...Bad idea Jill, very bad...'_ Leon thought as he glanced back at Claire's' motionless body.  
  
Jill got up from her seat next to wall, pulling her cell phone out of her side pack. Before leaving the room she looked back at Leon and saw that look of "I'm in deep shit" plastered across his face. Not thinking twice about it, as she walked into the open but busy hallway and dialed Chris's cell number. The phone rang three times and was just about to ring a fourth when a male voice answered.  
  
"...Hello?"  
  
"Chris..."  
  
"Oh, its you Jill... what's the problem, is something wrong?"  
  
"Chris its not really a problem, but something's up" Jill replied as she pressed her back against the wall, watched as a nurse walked by, waved at the woman in white and then turned to her side.  
  
"Jill!"  
  
"Yeah I'm here."  
  
"So... what's wrong? Is everyone okay, nobodies captured are they?" Jill shakes her head.  
  
"No Chris, no ones captured, but..."  
  
"But what"  
  
"It's your sister-"  
  
"What Happened To Claire!" Chris interrupted.  
  
"Well, Chris we're in the hospital-"  
  
"I'll be right over!"  
  
"Wait-"  
  
The phone then went dead; only the dull, emotionless dial tone could be heard.  
  
'Chris...'  
  
Jill just stood there against the wall for a few moments not really looking or focusing on anything really. Some people passed by looking at her and wondering what she was doing, but Jill didn't notice them.  
  
"If you would like to make a call, please hang up and try again..."  
  
"Si vous aimeriez ..."  
  
Jill just realized the voice in her head was that of the operator, or at least a recording of one. She turned off her cell phone placed it in her pack and walked back into the room shaking her head. "That was so unprofessional of you Jill..."  
  
"What's unprofessional Jill, what'd you do?" Barry questioned wondering what she meant.  
  
"Did I say that out loud Barry?"  
  
"Yeah, you said 'that was so unprofessional of you Jill...' word for word"  
  
"Real cute Barry"  
  
Leon looked back towards the two and smiled a fragile smile. "So...did you call him?"  
  
"I did."  
  
"...You told him everything? ... What'd he say"?  
  
"I tried to Leon, but he interrupted, I couldn't get everything I wanted to say out. He was really worried just like a big brother should be"  
  
"That's right, so then he'll be right over, right? It'll be good to see 'm again."  
  
Leon lowered his head; he remembered how Chris acted towards him when he walked away from a certain situation a while back. Chris had said that if he saw Leon again, he might just kill him.  
  
"The only fact is that he'll be really pissed"  
  
"That's not true Leon! Chris was gravely worried about Claire when I talked to him."  
  
Leon didn't say anything else, especially after that little spat they had. He wasn't really intended on starting an argument; he didn't want what little friendship they had to go to waste, not after all that's happened. They were the only people Leon could trust at the moment.  
  
"...Sorry I overreacted Jill, I'm just afraid that when Chris sees what's happened to Claire, he'll think somehow it's my fault."  
  
Leon glanced over at Claire still lying there not moving. He lowered his eyes to the floor feeling somewhat responsible for her current condition and hated himself for not finding her in the mansion. _' Why, why couldn't I of saved her... why?'_  
  
All of a sudden, a sharp pain rushed through his body and he fell against the wall.  
  
"Leon!!" Jill shouted as she rushed over to him.  
  
"...I'm fine... Jill. I can get up on my own."  
  
"Alright"  
  
Leon, clutching his shoulder rose to his feet and leaned on the wall, breathing heavily. This had been happening a lot recently, and since no one was around to help him, he'd continue to fight it off as long as possible.  
  
"He's infected. I'm glad I made it back here in time."  
  
They looked back at the door to see a girl dressed in jeans and a T-shirt standing there smiling at them.  
  
"Rebecca. "Jill said getting up.  
  
"Becca."  
  
Rebecca giggled at Barry and ran over to Leon who was still slouched next to the wall. Wasting no time at all she grabbed his arm, tied a piece of cloth around his elbow tight. She reached into her medical kit, and pulled out a needle and a small bottled of light green liquid. Leon watched as Rebecca sticks the needle in the bottle, taking in the contents. She injected him with the needle and removed the cloth.  
  
After receiving the medicine, Leon felt at ease, if only for a brief moment.  
  
"Thanks, Rebecca"  
  
"No problem, it's my job"  
  
"Hey Rebecca, I think we should leave Leon alone for awhile, he needs his rest." Barry said leaving the room.  
  
"I think I'm up for a burger, how you Becky?"  
  
"That sounds great Jill. Bye Leon!!"  
  
_'...Bye...'_


	3. Being Pissed Off,And Time For An Apology

Shattered Hearts Chapter 2:  
  
Authors' Note: Thanks to all who reviewed by story. You all give me the inspiration to continue with my story. ^_^  
  
Disclaimer: Applies as before, I don't own Resident Evil, Capcom does.  
  
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Chris Redfield stepped out of his car, shut the door and walked towards the hospital building. He walked into the hospital and glanced around the lobby, for a local hospital, it was well taken care of; the difference in countries was obvious. Even though America had the money, the French was known for overdoing things.  
  
' Reception desk, reception desk... ah, there it is'  
  
When he spotted the reception desk off to the side, Chris walked over to it and glanced at the woman sitting there. She was talking on the phone in French, and didn't even bother to acknowledge him standing there in front of her. Chris, who was quick with his temper, slammed his hand down on the desk.  
  
"Bien, m'excuser monsieur! Pouvoir ne vous voyez pas que je suis sur le téléphone!"  
  
Chris glared at the woman receptionist angrily.  
  
"Look, I'm in a big hurry, I don't have time for your laziness!!"  
  
"Pourquoi je jamais vu un homme de votre impolitesse dans toute ma vie! Vous avez quelque nerf!"  
  
"Well, if you'd just get your ass off that damn phone and listen to me, maybe I wouldn't be so rude!"  
  
Then Chris pushed the button on the receiver to hang up the phone. The women looked down at the disconnected phone and then back up at him.  
  
"Vous ennuyant le bâtard!"  
  
"Look, I may not know a lot of French, but calling me a bastard is not acceptable"  
  
"Je vous appelle un basatrd parce que vous avez raccroché mon téléphone!" The woman screamed.  
  
"I Hung Up Your Precious Phone, Because You Were Too Lazy To Pay Attention!!" Chris shouted back at her.  
  
Another receptionist walked out of the lounge and looked at the two arguing and was amused. She laughed to herself putting her coffee down. Pinning her hair back into a bun, she picked up her coffee and walked towards the two.  
  
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Leon watched as Jill, Rebecca, and Barry walked out the hospital room waving and smiling back at him. To be honest, all he really wanted was to be alone for the moment, so he was glad they had left. The silence sweeping the nearly empty room was calming, and Leon had the chance to let his mind wander. He walked over to the chair next to Claire's bed from the spot were he stood and sat down.  
  
' Why...'  
  
"Why did you come after me?"  
  
'...Why?'  
  
"Why... why'd you do it... it was my mission anyway, it didn't concern you... So... why you of all people to follow me into that mansion."  
  
'...Or...'  
  
"Were...w-were you there before me? I don't understand it... when you've been through so much... I..."  
  
Leon leaned forward and grabbed Claire's hand gently; god only knows what could be broken or useless... Leon didn't want to even think like that, nor did he want to cause further damage to her or have that thought to be true.  
  
"Claire, if you can possibly hear me... I'm sorry, I'm so Very Sorry Claire... is it at all possible that you could forgive me... maybe?"  
  
' It's hopeless...'  
  
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"Um, excuse me sir, how can I help you?" she said politely.  
  
"Well, your girl here at the desk was to caught up in her own little world to give a damn about helping me." Chris replied taking his eyes off the unhelpful receptionist.  
  
"I see, well first off she can understand English, but can't speak it. Secondly, what is it that you need?"  
  
"I'm just here to see my sister, she was just sent here this morning I think."  
  
"Okay, well let's check the list of the people just registered as patients in the hospital as of today."  
  
The woman went over behind the desk and picked up the list.  
  
"What's her name?"  
  
"Claire"  
  
"Okay, good here it is, room 514 on the ninth floor."  
  
"Thank you very much."  
  
"Your welcome."  
  
Chris walks toward the elevators in the left corner of the lobby. He stood there for a second, remembering what number room it was, pushed the up button and waited for the elevator. The numbers went down until the doors finally slid open in front of him. Chris stepped inside the small elevator and pressed the 9-floor button. The doors closed and started to ascend upwards.  
  
During his little trip, the elevator had stopped at five floors and each time a crowd of people cramped the tiny space, which royally agitated Chris to the point of screaming. On the other hand he was a man of honor, and wouldn't stoop so low as to say anything, so he just waited patiently.  
  
When most of the people got off, Chris had a chance to breathe. The elevator opened up on the ninth floor, now the only thing Chris was left to do was find the room. He paced back and forth through seemly endless hallways until he arrive at 514. When he did, he glanced in the room, and then stood near the door for a brief moment before finally entering.  
  
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Leon sighed and turned the chair around facing away from the bed, still holding on to her hand. He knew that it was hopeless trying to talk to her now, she was still unconscious and probably couldn't hear him. Then Leon felt pressure on his hand and turned around to see Claire's hand closed over his. Leon was speechless. He looked at her briefly, rose to his feet, let go of her hand, even though he didn't really want to and started walking back towards the window.  
  
'...Did she hear me...'  
  
Leon was too lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear the footsteps behind him. He turned around to face the person, but was too late. What seemed like a brick punched him in the jaw, knocking him into the wall. Pain rushed through his jaw as he looked up to see Chris staring down at him.  
  
'Shit...'  
  
"What was that for Chris!" Leon said holding onto his jaw.  
  
"Shut up Leon, what the hell happened"?  
  
"I-I don't know-"  
  
"That's bullshit!"  
  
Chris then punched him in the face, a blow that was hard enough to crack something if done properly. Considering all the bar fights he's been in over his few years training in the air force, he obviously knew how to make it hurt.  
  
Leon hit Chris in his jaw, feeling his anger build up inside. This little fight turned into a brawl as the two exchanged blows. Chris punched him in the stomach, as Leon countered by upper-cutting him in the chin. When he went to hit Chris in the face again, Chris punched him in the abdomen knocking Leon into the wall. Blood dripped from Leon's lip as he used the wall for support. breathing heavily, he looked up at Chris.  
  
"...N-No Chris, it isn't..."  
  
Just before Chris hurt Leon any further, Barry rushed in the room and grabbed Chris's arms. Jill and Rebecca weren't far behind him.  
  
"That's enough Chris!" Barry shouted moving him away from Leon.  
  
"What the hell is going on here, oh my!" Rebecca said looking at them.  
  
"Chris why did you do that?" Jill asked staring at him directly.  
  
"..."  
  
"Anyway, Leon I'll clean you wound for you."  
  
"As always, thank you Becky"  
  
Rebecca helped Leon to his feet, putting his arm around her, and led him to the patient bathroom. While she was helping Leon, Barry let go of Chris's arm and he turned to face him.  
  
"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"  
  
"I came here looking for answers"  
  
"Chris, that's not the way to deal with things" Jill added.  
  
"Yeah man, even if you're worried about your sis, you shouldn't overreact like you did."  
  
Chris now felt bad about it, and lowered his head. He didn't really know why he hit Leon, it just happened. It's true Chris was quick to get mad, but truthfully he was a nice guy, as long as you didn't piss him off. He always looked up to Barry as a father, and respected his judgment, after all, Barry's the one who landed Chris in S.T.A.R.S.  
  
Rebecca walked out of the bathroom, holding a 'thumbs up', she went to go sit down. Leon followed her shortly after and stood by the wall looking at Barry and Jill.  
  
"Well Leon, I want to know what happened in the facility the other day." Chris said looking at him.  
  
"...Promise you won't kill me?"  
  
"I won't hurt you."  
  
Leon sighed and began to tell Chris everything. He started telling him about working with the government, going to Europe, and about being injected with the progenitor virus. Leon paused for a moment and looked at the group, who was listening carefully, and looked over at Rebecca taking notes. Then he told them about being forced to cooperate with them on account of them hurting Sherry if he didn't, after that told them about arriving at the Paris Umbrella facility and finding Claire.  
  
"That's when I saw her laying there motionless, covered in blood. Immediately after finding her, I rushed over to you guys."  
  
"All right, I've heard enough...thank you for clearing that for me" Chris said looking at Leon.  
  
"...No...problem..." he said to Chris as he left the room.  
  
"By the way, I'm sorry about before" Chris said just before walking out the door.  
  
"As long as it doesn't happen again" Rebecca said waving bye to Chris.  
  
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To be continued  
  
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No Flames please, only constructive criticism. 


	4. Remembrance Part 1

Shattered Hearts

Chapter 3: Remembrance Part 1

Author's Note: I've read everyone's reviews, thanks to all. I went on ahead and made some changes to previous chapters, so I hope everyone is happy with my story.

Oh, one more thing this chapter is what Claire is thinking / remembering (whatever). And it explains what happened and why she came.

Disclaimer: Same as always, I don't own Resident Evil, it belongs to Capcom.

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Silence beckons across the empty land, as Claire Redfield watches the sunset.

She's been home for half a year since that incident on Rockfort, but she can't get what happened then out of her head. When the sun finally goes down, she gets up and walks back inside the house. Turning on the lights in the living room, Claire sits down on the couch, sighing to herself.

To be honest, it has been real lonely around the house, since everyone was busy. Chris was out on some kind of trip somewhere, and wouldn't tell her where he was going, or when he'd get back. Jill, Barry, and Rebecca were working together with their own little things, probably deciding what to do next. The only thing Claire didn't know was what Leon was doing all this time; she hadn't heard from him in 2 months, and it was really starting to worry her.

Claire leaned back on the couch, and shut her eyes. At least when its this quiet, she could rest peacefully without any noise. When she was just about to go to sleep, the phone in the kitchen starting ringing loudly waking her up.

'..._What is it now?'_ she thought while walking towards the phone.

"Hello?"

On the other end was a brief silence, which worried Claire. It reminded her of those horror movies, where the killer was watching the victim through the window as they freaked out on the phone, scary.

"H-Hello?"

"Ms. Redfield correct?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"That is not of your concern, at this moment Claire..."

The voice was somehow familiar, as if she heard it before but just couldn't tell from where. It was a strong and deep voice, which sounded like it had some power behind it.

This was making Claire very nervous.

"What do you want from me?"

"Nothing really, just wanted to inform you about a certain friend of yours who might be in grave danger, that's all."

"Who!? You had better not do anything to Sherry!"

"That girl is another matter, the Birkin child is under close surveillance"

"What!!?"

"There's no need for worry Ms. Redfield believe me, she's in good hands. On-"

"That's bullshit!"

"Such language, Claire do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"My mom's dead"

"Pity, your partner will be too if you don't hurry to Paris."

"What- who?"

Just then the phone went dead, and Claire was left to think about what action to take.

She stood there for a moment, deciding what to do, then hung up the phone. That guy scared her, but also gave her some information that she needed. Not thinking about it anymore, Claire rushed down the hallway to her room.

Opening the door, she ran towards her closet and rummaged through it. Finding the case she was looking for, she turned in sideways and opened the locked box. Pulling a handgun out of the case, she throws it back in her closet. She walked over to her dresser and pulled the top drawer open. After digging in its contents, she grabbed out a couple magazine clips and placed them in her pockets. Claire then opened the drawer below the top; reaching inside it she pulled out a knife and bullets to another gun. While running down the hall, she slipped them into her side pack, taking a left turn down the stairs towards the garage.

Entering the garage she quickly looked around in the dark, spotting her motorcycle. Climbing on she started the engine and opened the garage door leading into the outside world of the small suburbs of southern Beauvais. The hideout was almost directly on the border of Beauvais and Paris, so it would be a short drive, considering how fast she drives. The road was damn near empty; there were a few cars but not many, which made it easier on Claire to get there.

Upon arriving to the mansion's barred fence, Claire shut off the engine, and climbed off of the motorcycle looking at her options. The fence before her was tall with sharp points at the tips and seemed to surround the mansion. Being made of steel and iron, she knew that if she was to climb over, she might risk an injury and if one of those iron points were to puncture her skin it would become infected; in which she didn't want it to happen.

Claire began to look around the premises for anything she could open the lock with. Walking a few feet from where she stood, she noticed one of bars off of the fence lying on the ground. She picked it up and examined it; the rod was basically still intact, only a little rusty, it still had the sharp point just duller than it should be. Wiping the rust off her hand, Claire lowers the rod and drags it across the ground making tiny sparks.

'... Sure... like I'm going to just bang this against the gate and it'll open.... Not goin' to happen...'

After dropping the useless iron rod on the ground, Claire walked back towards her motorcycle and opens the compartment under the seat, then closes it knowing there is nothing in there she needed. Sighing, she turns around glaring at the locked gate barring her path to the mansion. Claire then noticed that on the side of the fence there were enough bars missing that she could fit through. Pulling her gun out of her pack, she took the safety off, readied it and began to walk towards the opening.

For the moment, walking through the tall grass, which looked as if it hadn't been cut in months, Claire didn't seem scared, just nervous. The tiny noise her feet made while in the grass made her feel uneasy, so she quickened her pace to get to the patio. When she heard the familiar sound of boot on stone, she felt better knowing what a human sounded like. Claire now stood in front of the mansion facing the door, which led in, and paused for a brief moment, steadying herself.

She reached out her hand to grab the knob firmly. _'...It's just an empty house... there is a slight eeriness to it but nothing more...right? ...' _ Claire thought to herself, she had been in these situations before, one quite unpleasant experience in Raccoon city and another taken-prisoner-escapee type one on Rockfort island. Both times she was looking for her brother, and now... she had almost the same objective; she was looking for someone.

Opening the door, she looked around noticing that inside was in the same condition as the outside: old. The air in the room was thick and humid which made breathing just a little bit difficult. _'... What a dump, it's still in one piece even if its held up by rotten wood...'_ she thought. Stepping forward in the dark caused dust to unsettle and begin to disperse. Claire slightly coughed fumbling blindly to find a light switch. After finding it she flicked it on and glanced around. At first it appeared broken down in the dark, but with some light shown on it, the room looked richer in a sense.

'... I guess darkness really does manipulate things... still, I don't feel comfortable here...oh well, I have to move on...'

After searching every room on the first floor that she could open without manual labor, Claire stopped in front of a door that seemed out of place. It didn't have any dust on it, and looked as if it had recently been used. '...That's odd...' she thought smelling the air. She grabbed the doorknob. Not really paying attention to the blood smear across the door, Claire opened it and was face-to-face with a familiar walking corpse reaching out to grab her.

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To be continued in Part 2

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	5. Remembrance Part 2

Shattered Hearts

Chapter 4: Remembrance Part 2

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews, sadly yet this will be the last chapter for a while. I'll make more but it'll take me a lot longer to finish... blah, blah, blah...

Disclaimer: Applies as before, don't own the, never did... never will. All except made up characters belong to Capcom.

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Claire's eyes widened as her mind registered the thing she was looking at was indeed a zombie. The zombie staggered slowly closer to her with its half-rotten arm out to grab her. She wanted to move away but was frozen to the spot. The zombie reached out and grabbed hold of her leather jacket, digging its nails into the fabric, slightly ripping it as it moved in to bite her neck. Claire screamed as she raised her gun and fired six rounds into the zombie's chest, knocking it to the floor. She breathed heavily as her body slowed down from the adrenaline rush she received. Claire looked down at the now re-dead zombie and watched the blood pour out from beneath it.

'..._Okay, it's puddled... It won't be getting back up... I hope...'_

She took a deep breath as she turned around to head back down the corridor to start over again. This time she took the left door through the sitting room. While searching the room, Claire paused in front of an odd looking painting hanging above an end-table. The portrait was of two soldiers lying motionless on the ground surrounded by blood and fire. Claire didn't know what to think of it, but figured it might end up being part of a puzzle later; considering any residence owned by Umbrella had stupid things like these. Not thinking about it anymore, she walked on down the long room to one of the doors she hadn't been through.

Upon reaching the locked door, Claire looked at it for a moment, and then headed back to the fireplace to grab a tool. Looking at her choices, she decided that the fire hook would be the best decision for prying a door open. Picking it up, she walked back toward the door and jammed it between the door and its frame. Using her upper-body strength, Claire pulled the hook towards her and was glad to see that the door was starting to crack. Lifting the handle of the hook up, she yanked it out and tossed it to the side. Backing away from the door, Claire spun around and back-kicked the door causing it to fling open.

"See, huh... no sweat."

The room connected to the sitting area was a bedroom.

'..._Of all things to be locked... how stupid...'_

Entering the bedroom, Claire looked around to see two closets to the right, next to a dresser and a bed. She went over to the dresser and went through its drawers. The top drawer was filled with old torn moldy clothes. The stench itself was so bad, that Claire immediately closed it. Opening the second drawer proved successful, finding two magazine clips, a diary and shotgun shells.

'... _I guess everyone has something useful in his or her dressers... I thought we were the only ones...'_

Taking the items, Claire sat down on the bed and begun to read the diary.

September 11,

They can't keep us locked in here forever; we're like prisoners in this hellhole.

People are starting to disappear from the rooms. John was taken Wednesday and Tim Friday in the middle of the night. The people in the room next to mine started throwing up this morning, and they didn't look so well. I'm staring to feel sick myself.

September 14,

Today guys in the white suits came into my room; they said they were "checking" on me. They searched my closets and dresser, then left. Later in the evening I felt itchy and couldn't stop. I looked into the mirror, to see my face was pale and red.

September 18

Still so itchy... and hungry

September 21,

Hungry...

Th smll o blod s thck n my rom.

My romate cme tday...

Ugly face, so ate hm.

Tasty...

The rest of the pages in the diary were blank. Upon reading the last entry, Claire threw the diary on the ground disgusted. One of the worst things that Chris brought back from the mansion besides his injuries, were the notebooks left by the people who were living at the compound. The stages of virus contamination were practically laid out in the diaries. They went from being normal civilians, to eating other people, which made Claire want to throw up.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Claire got off the bed and moved toward the closet closest to her. Before she could open the doors, they flew open and a zombie grabbed her, pinning her on the bed. Kicking and screaming she tired to fight it off, but to no avail. The zombie, in the midst of the struggling, managed to bite her on the neck. Gathering all her strength, Claire pushed the zombie off her, a piece of her flesh going down with it. She looked down at the zombie chewing on the chunk of skin. When the zombie staggered to its feet to grab her again, Claire turned her head and quickly fired five shots into its head.

Watching it fall to the ground one last final time, Claire walked out of the bedroom. She back-tracked to one of the main hallways, anxiously looking for a bathroom. Taking a left down the corridor, she noticed a wooden door close enough to the wall leading to the next hallway to be what she needed. Without any more hesitation she entered the tiny room and shut the door behind her. The bathroom itself was filthy, grime was everywhere. She figured it would be this way, after all, all the other rooms in the mansion where out of shape and disgusting.

Climbing up on the sink, Claire reached into her pouch and pulled out a rag and a canteen. Opening the canteen she tipped it over and wet the rag then placed it over her wound. Rubbing it gently, she winced in pain. It wasn't a deep gash, but it still hurt like hell. Wetting the rag once more, she cleaned off the last bit of blood. Ringing it out in the sink, Claire put the cloth back in the pouch.

She looked across from her at the bathtub, which was filled to the brim with murky black water. Claire thought about empting the tub, but then remembered a humorous little story Jill had told her about the mansion incidence in the Arklay Mountains, and decided not to.

'..._I'm not that stupid as to drain the tub... even if there's something I might need in the bottom... I need all the bullets in my gun... they're not to be wasted...'_

Hoping off the sink, Claire left the bathroom, and closed the door behind her. Going down the long hallway, she took a right and stopped at a dead-end with a door. Opening the door, Claire looked around and saw that the room was a big empty lab with nothing in it but empty worktables and a metal door at the far back. Thinking that there was nothing in there that could harm her, she let her guard down as she walked across the lab to another door at the end. She was too bent on continuing with her search, that the thought of a lab room being placed in a residence hall, didn't strike her as being a little weird.

The metal door creaked open slowly and the silhouette of a tall man appeared in its doorway. Claire tried to see him, but couldn't make out a face in the dim red lighting. The man stepped forward into the light, revealing his short blond hair and red eyes. He had a rather unpleasant smirk across his face, which gave Claire shivers. There was no way of denying it; this guy had the same features of THE one person, who along with the Umbrella Corporation ruined everyone's lives. One guy that wasn't only after her, but her brother Chris as well: Albert Wesker.

"Why... Hello Claire... It's good to see you... alive…" Wesker said stepping forward a step closer to her.

"You- You Stay Away Wesker... or-"

"Or you'll what... kill me?"

Claire cringed at the sound of his voice full of amusement and sarcasm. She truly hated Wesker with every fiber of her being. He after all was nothing but a backstabbing traitor to her brother and his colleagues at S.T.A.R.S. He used them to the point of their own deaths and still managed to live after almost being killed by a Tyrant proto-type. Having him standing before her now, she knew the outcome would be nothing but pain and agony.

"To be honest Claire, I don't think you have it in you to kill me... Let alone the strength to..."

"SHUT UP!!" Claire screamed raising her gun towards Wesker's direction.

"...I see... Wrong answer Ms. Redfield," He said moving close enough to her so the barrel of the gun touched his chest.

"...Shoot me... only if you can shoot me without being too slow or messing up." He said smirking evilly down at her.

Claire's eyes widened at his mockery.

'..._Shit...'_

Wesker closed the distance between them completely, grabbed Claire by the neck and looked down at her, enjoying the facial expressions his strength caused her. Lifting her above his head, he smiled evilly and then threw Claire into the wall in the front of the room.

"What's wrong Redfield? Can't take the pressure?"

Opening her eyes slightly due to the extreme pain she was in, Claire looked over at Wesker; some blood started to drip down from her forehead and clouded her vision. From what she could see was Wesker standing before her with a look of disappointment on his face.

"Ah, too bad Claire, I guess you have changed since the last time I saw you, you've become weak, what a shame... I suppose you can't handle this either."

With that said Wesker pulling a switch out of his pocket, and then showed it to her like she was some kind of child. Pushing the button released a siren and the lights in the lab turned a dark red and began flashing. A section of the wall to the right of them, burst open with a loud crash, and steam filled the room.

"Well, Claire I hope you enjoy the performance... I certainly know I will."

Claire lifted her head up even though it felt like a ton of bricks and looked at Wesker, wondering what he meant, then realized whatever it was wasn't good. When the ground shook violently a moment later, Wesker laughed at her stupidity. The shakes came closer until an eight-foot tall monster appeared in the new doorway.

Even though it looked a lot different to Mr. X and the tyrant at Rockfort Island, the similarities were frightening. Its body was covered in attached rippling muscle, which jerked uncontrollably at its' every breath. The heart, if that is what you would call a heart, was exposed to the open air, so that you could see it beating. The monster moved its head over to look at Claire, acknowledging the fear in her eyes.

'..._Oh god...' _Was the last thought that went through her mind before the tyrant grabbed her with one arm and drove its' claw across her stomach. With the contact of the claw against her skin, blood spurted out of the rips in flesh and splattered down on the floor. Wesker watched this in delight; he always wanted to see a Redfield suffer to the point of death. The tyrant then hit Claire so hard across the face that it knocked her out of it's' grasp and right before Wesker's feet.

Claire moved her head off the ground to look up at him slowly.

"Had enough yet?" Wesker said looking down at her bloody stomach smirking.

She didn't respond, only staggered to her feet to half-face him, not being able to stand straight. When she tried to face him directly, she spit up blood, which was a definite sign of something wrong on the inside. Claire really didn't want to even ponder what could be wrong with her, not at that moment, one thought floated to the top: run.

Without hesitating, Claire turned around and ran through the door, not bothering to look back to see if they were following her. At that moment, she didn't feel the pain of her injury as she sprinted down countless hallways and doors looking for an escape. When she had ran so far as to run upstairs to a patio outside on a balcony, the pain hit like a heavy weight on her shoulders, she was out of breath and couldn't bear to run anymore. The tyrant could be heard a few hallways back, destroying walls and other objects which stood in its way, blocking it from its target.

Claire turned to look around and was face-to-face with the tyrant towering over her. It raised its arm to strike her down, but she moved out of its' reach and began shooting at its exposed heart. One thing she learned from her experiences in both Raccoon City and on Rockfort Island was that if it bleeds then it isn't invincible and can be killed. The only problem with this monster however was the fact that after fifteen rounds of nine-millimeter bullets, it hasn't bled a drop, which scared her far beyond anything else.

Claire began backing up against the wall that led inside, disposed of the empty chamber in her gun, reloaded and looked around for any possible options that she might have overlooked. From what she could see, there was a dead-end of the balcony to both sides of her and there was no way that she intended on jumping off. She raised her gun at the tyrant, not as confident as her brother, but still a good shooter.

----------------------------------------------

In that moment, Claire was no longer standing on a balcony face-to-face with a tyrant Wesker had sent after her; she couldn't see anything around her except for white. She didn't feel the pain from the extent of her injuries, but the wounds were still there.

"_Claire...I'm sorry"_

Looking around her new environment, Claire searched for the voice that called out through the silence, it seemed to be coming from everywhere with no starting point. The voice seemed a little familiar, but it didn't register in her mind.

"_What?"_

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Before Claire could shoot at the monster, it took its clawed arm and rammed it against the side of her head, slamming her into the wall, causing the wall to crack immensely. Wesker watched as the tyrant stood over her, observing her every moment to see if she had survived the onslaught.

"Your target is dead, there's no need for you now" Wesker said approaching the tyrant unwavering.

The tyrant turned around and looked down at him, somehow understanding, and jumped off the balcony. Wesker walked over to the barely breathing Claire and crouched down next to her.

"...W-why...am I...here...W-Wesker..." Claire barely managed to say, too injured to try to speak.

"Do you really want to know little Redfield, then I'll tell you...you were tricked I afraid..."

"W-what?"

"You see, I had someone call you to lead you here-"

Claire took a deep breath, gathering some strength to comprehend what it was he was saying.

"Where... is Sherry?"

"You mean Birkins little girl? Heh... I'm sorry to say this, but she is not here neither is your partner."

"M-my...Partner, I don't..."

"Let me guess, you never had a partner, well you're wrong Claire... you did"

-------------------------------------

"_I'm so very sorry Claire... is it at all possible that you could forgive me"_

"..._Leon... is that really you..."_

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"Leon...you mean him... don't you?" Claire said as she tried to sit up, but her efforts were useless, just as her body was useless to any movement.

"Please don't try to get up, you'll only make it worse on yourself later...if you get out of here alive." Wesker said, rising to his feet to look down on her.

"Yes Claire, I'm talking about Leon S. Kennedy, I'm sure you two have kept in close contact since, right?"

"W-what have you...done to him?"

"Me? Personally, I haven't done anything to him. I do know, however, that he is injected with the new progenitor virus."

"Then...why am...I--"

"...Here? 'Why am I here,' you ask, well your just a pawn in our little game, we sent you into a trap and you fell for it. Mr. Kennedy is not here yet, so our little game has yet to be over."

Claire cringed as she listened to Wesker talk about her situation, and couldn't stand him talking to her like she was nothing. Moving herself up a little, she pointed her gun at Wesker's head, readying the trigger. She fired one shot at him directly, but it only grazed his ear because he moved out of the way too fast.

"Now Claire, why would you do that... you know I don't like it..."

Wesker grabbed Claire by the head, pulled out a combat knife and held it up to her mouth. He slowly moved the knife across her lower lip to the corner of her mouth, and left it there, blade pointed towards her. When she tried to struggle away, he cut her lips across both sides where they connected. This caused Claire's fresh blood to drip onto the knife until it slowly fell to the floor. Wesker removed the knife from her skin and kissed the wound callously, making it bleed even more.

Claire tried her hardest with what strength she had, to fight him off of her. Having him do that to her, was making her sick. Raising her gun up from her lap, she pulled the trigger and fired a shot into his chest. Wesker moved away from her, and struck her across the face, pushing her further into the wall.

"I'm not done with you yet Claire, although I don't think we'll have the liberty of meeting again," Wesker said as he left.

Claire felt the last bits of her energy drain from her body. It was to the point where she couldn't move anymore. Closing her eyes, she felt the gun slip from her grasp. She let the pain take over her body, feeling numb as her world slipped into darkness.

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To be continued

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End file.
